Coat-hanger.



A. L McGUlRE.

Patnted May 8,1917..

r nRRIs PETERS w" rnammno. WASHINGTON, n c.

ARTHUR L. MCGUIRE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GOAT-HANGER.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 19117.

Application filed April 13, 1914. Serial No. 831,507.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. MCGUIRE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Coat-Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to coat racks, and it has for its principal object to produce a locking coat hanger of simple and inexpensive construction which will prevent the unauthorized taking of a coat therefrom.

The invention consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, in which an embodiment of the invention is illustrated,

Figure 1 is a side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, showing the retaining member moved out of cooperative relation to the garment supporting hook;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the key-check;

Fig. 7 is a view of the key-check holder detached; 7

Fig. 8 is a top view of the key-check holder; and

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the locking element detached.

In practice the body portion 1 .of the hanger may be designed and mounted in any desirable manner. As shown, the upper end portion 2 is made cylindrical so as to be sleeved on a supporting rod 3, in which case it may be fastened by a screw 4. At the lower end of the body portion is a hook 5 whose free end is preferably provided with a knob or spherical enlargement 6. The body portion adjacent to the hook 5 is made hollow, as at 7. The front wall 8 of this hollow portion is provided with an opening 9 on opposite sides of which are perforated lugs or enlargements 10,-

through which the pivot pin or pintle 11 of a retaining arm 12 extends.

The outer end portion of the retaining arm is formed with an eye or ring 13 of a diameter larger than the knob 6 on the hook 5 sufiicient to allow for the average thickness of the coat adjacent to the collar. The portion of the member 12 adjacent to the pivot 11 is made to fit the opening 9 snugly, but with sufficient play to permit an easy movement of the member 12 there through. A shoulder 14: is provided on the under side of the member 12 so as to engage the outer face of the wall 8 and thereby serve as a stop to limit the downward movement of the member 12, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1. On the upper side of the member 12, and within the housing 7, is a shoulder 15 which is engaged by a gravitating locking element 16. This locking element is mounted on a pivot pin 17 extending transversely through the upper portion of the housing 7, and its rear end portion underlies a holder 18 for a key-check 19. As shown, the key-check holder comprises a plate whose vertical edge portions are rebent outwardly, as at 20, to provide slide ways for said key-check, the bottom edge portion of the plate being flanged, as at 21, and a portion thereof being removed to provide an opening 22 for the passage of a tripping projection 23 I on the key-check. The upper end portion of the plate is beveled, as at 24, to facilitate the insertion of the key-check. The lower portion of this holder is inserted in a pocket 25 at the front of the body portion 1, and top of the hous ing 7 and it is secured to the body portion by a screw 26.

The inner end portion of the retaining arm 12 is provided with flat angular faces 27, 28, which are alternately engaged by a leaf spring 29 secured to the inner face of the front wall 8 of the housing 7, when the arm .12 is moved to a raised or lowered position, and whereby said spring will snap said arm into either position when moved past dead center, and will yieldingly hold it in said position.

The forward portion of the locking element 16 is made to overbalance the rear portion so that said member will gravitate into engagement with the shoulder 15 when the arm 12 is in retaining position, as shown in Fig. 1. The key-check 19 is obviously made to overbalance the forward portion of the locking element 16 when its tripping projection 23 is brought to bear upon the rear portion of said locking element 16.

It is preferable to divide said locking element 16 into two or more sections, each of which is independently movable on the pivot 17, and have the projection 23 on the key-check made so as to span the adjacent portions of'two adjoining sections so that when the key-check is inserted the locking element as a whole will be released from the shoulder 15. This manner of constructing the locking element makes it difficult to release the lock with an instrument other than the proper key-check, and it permits of numerous combinations for different hangers by changing the location of the parting lines of the sections of the locking elements, and by correspondingly changing the location of the openings 22 of the keycheck holder and likewise the tripping projection 23 on the key-check. So, too, instead of providing for a single tripping projection, two or more may be provided in varying the combinations. The key-check may also be provided with deceptive notches to confuse one who might attempt to open the lock with an instrument other than the proper key-check. The check may also be provided with a flange or bead 31 at its upper edge, or any other suitable portion for facilitating its removal from the holder 18. A flange or bead, or some projection on the front face, is preferable because it assists in the proper application of the keycheck to the holder.

Obviously, the device admits of considerable modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, I do not wishto be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown.

I claim:

1. A coat hanger comprising a hook having a spherical enlargement at its end over which the neck portion of the coat in the region of the collar is hung, a movable retaining arm cooperating with said hook, said arm having a ring at its end in which the spherical enlargement at the end of the hook is centrally located when the arm is in closed position, the ring being of round cross section and of relatively larger diameter than the end portion of said hook to provide clearance to accommodate the thick ness of the cloth, a locking element arranged and adapted to engage said retaining arm, a key-check holder located in cooperative re lation to said locking element, and a keycheck detachably fitted to said holder and arranged and adapted to release said locking element from said retaining arm.

2. A coat hanger comprising a body portion, a hook thereon, said body portion having a housing adjacent to said hook, a re taining arm pivoted on said housing and working through an opening in the wall thereof and cooperating with said hook, yieldable means for holding said retaining arm in and out of cooperative relation to said hook, said retaining arm having a shouldered portion within said housing, a locking device within said housing, said locking device comprising a gravitating divided pivotal plate constituting a plurality of independently movable sections simultaneously engaging said shouldered portion of said retaining arm and each acting separately to lock said arm in cooperative relation to said hook, a key check holder located in cooperative relation to said locking device, and a key check detachably fitted to said holder and arranged and adapted to release all of the sections of said locking device from engagement with said retaining arm.

3. A coat hanger comprising a body portion, a hook thereon, a housing adjacent to said hook, a retaining arm pivoted to said housing and working through an opening therein, the outer portion of said arm cooperating with said hook, and the inner portion thereof having a locking shoulder within the housing, a locking element within said housing adapted to engage said locking shoulder on the retaining arm, said locking element comprising a plurality of independentlymovable sections, a key check holder located in cooperative relation to said locking element, and a key-check detachably fitted to said holder and having a projection adapted to engage two adjoining sections of said locking element to release the same from engagement with said retaining arm.

4. In a coat hanger, a coat-supporting member, a movable retaining member cooperating therewith, said retaining member having a locking shoulder, a gravitating locking element comprising a plurality of adjoining independently movable sections severally engaging the locking shoulder of said retaining member simultaneously and each acting separately to lock said retaining member in cooperative relation to said sup porting member, a key-check holder located in cooperative relation to said locking element, and a key-check detachably fitted to said holder and having provision for effecting the release of all of the sections of said locking member from engagement with said retaining member.

5. In a coat hanger, a coat-supporting hook, a pivoted retaining arm cooperating therewith, a gravitating locking element comprising a divided pivotal plate constituting a plurality of independently movable sections severally engaging said retaining 1,225,150 &

arm simultaneously, and each acting sepa- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set rately to lock the latter in cooperative relamy hand in presence of tWo subscribing Wit- 10 tion to said supporting hook, a key-check nesses.

holder in cooperative relation to said lock- ARTHUR L. MCGUIRE 4 ing element, and a key-check de'tachably fitted to said holder and having provision Witnesses: for effecting the release of all of the sections G. A. PENNINGTON, from engagement with said retaining arm. STELLA HILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of fiatentt, Washington, D. C. 

